


Magic Doors

by moonmayhem



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, College Roman Reigns, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Mythical Beings & Creatures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:14:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21762049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonmayhem/pseuds/moonmayhem
Summary: People say there are doors found inside forests all over the world that lead you into a mythical place filled to the brim with creatures only found in fairytales.
Relationships: Fairy!Reader/Roman Reigns
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Magic Doors

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a Supernatural Summer Writing Challenge on Tumblr! It was incredibly on-brand for me to pic a Fairy as the supernatural/mythical creature and my prompt was: “My life would be boring without you. Very peaceful and stress-free but boring.”

_People say there are doors found inside forests all over the world that lead you into a mythical place filled to the brim with creatures only found in fairytales. The mesic soil gives life to herbaceous plants and species that are unknown to mankind. The trees’ canopies overlap and leave little to no sunlight, providing shade and security to its inhabitants._

_Should you be lucky enough to find one and brave enough to step through it, be cautious that you do not run into the fairies. The elementals that live there are in harmony with their environment and do not trust intruding species. They’re tricksters by birth; stealing precious items, leading one astray, kidnapping, consumption! They are capable of much more than anyone is aware. Stay on your guard and never ever give them your full name._

–

University was supposed to be a place where like-minded individuals went together in order to further their knowledge in subjects that interested them, but here you were, sat in a class with individuals that didn’t seem to be taking the same interests as you. It was wholly frustrating that you couldn’t tune out their words.

The sophomore boy next to you spread out his legs and fiddled with a pen between his fingers as he addressed his friend to his right. “I only took this class as an elective and it apparently settles my mandatory culture course, too.”

Ever so slightly, you turned your head to look at him in the corner of your eye and wondered what he exactly meant. The time he spent in this mythology and folklore class was obviously important to him, he used it to sleep. It was _necessary_. A sharp feeling of disgust made you turn your head away from the conversation, impatiently waiting for the professor to start his lecture.

With a deep inhale, you looked up at the ceiling of the lecture hall and took in its framework. The classroom was one half of the building’s horizontal hourglass shape, split in the middle by the two very large projector screens that made their descent from the ceiling. This single classroom could hold over one hundred students as it crescendoed in shape up the side stairs. Every class, the lights were dimmed for the PowerPoints and that is what gave the student next to you the advantage to take his nap for the duration of the class.

This was the environment you lived in; buildings with odd shapes, primarily made with drywall and brick, inhabited by people that seemed not to take things too seriously, the complete opposite of how you tried to spend your time here. _Frustrating_. A place settled in a town that whispered rumors of mythical creatures and books that spun tales of magic doors leading to mystical forests but won’t even pay attention in their mythology class. _Infuriating_.

After class and two documents worth of incredibly detailed notes later, you quickly gathered your belongings and shoved them into your backpack to make your great escape; the classroom was beginning to feel suffocating.

“Uh, hey! Hey, wait up a minute, please!” 

There were thudding footsteps getting closer behind you, unsure of whom the individual had been calling out to, you turned around to look. When you caught his eyes they lit up, growing large with relief as he came up to you. He was definitely a little over 6 feet tall – he felt like a tower in comparison to you, but it was possible that your mind was playing tricks. He looked familiar though, possibly someone you’d seen in one of your classes, but he hadn’t been in your class just now.

“Can I help you?”

“Yeah,” he sighed happily, and you tilted your head to the side, curious. “Thank you for stopping. I was wondering if you had the notes for today’s class? I always see you taking real in-depth notes on your computer, and since we have an exam coming up, I don’t want to miss anything important.”

Your eyes narrowed slightly. So, he _was_ in your class… but you hadn’t seen him earlier. “Were you sleeping in class?”

“Sleeping? No, I had a shift at work that went later than it was supposed to, and by the time I got here the doors were already locked.”

While he explained his situation and how he had waited outside the building for the entirety of the class, you allowed yourself the time to focus on the way he kept trying to push his hair out of his face. His locks were long, wavy, and without any product it was frizzy. That’s what seemed to be bothering him: the frizziness.

He coughed and you looked at him in the eyes again, taking in their deep brown warmness.

“I have the notes.” You said quietly and directed him over to a nearby bench to pull out your computer for him. “Can I have your email?”

“You’re a life savior!” He sat down next to you and looked at your computer screen along with you. “It’s Rreigns96 with the school’s domain.”

 _Reigns_ \- what a strong last name, you thought. His first name started with the same letter and you wondered what it was and if it was just as strong sounding.

“Ok, I’m warning you, Reigns, the notes I take are pretty odd. If you have any questions, go ahead and email me back.” After thanking you, he still continued to mess with his hair. He didn’t have anything to pull it back, so after putting your laptop away you dug through your backpack for something else. “Do you have more classes today?”

“I do, one more until I get to shower and hopefully nap.” He sighed heavily and adjusted his posture. It was obvious that he was exhausted.

Finally finding what you were looking for, you turned back to Reigns and held it out to him. “You keep messing with your hair. I only have a scrunchy, so I hope you don’t think it’s too girly or anything.”

The smile he gave you was nothing short of appreciative as he took it, and you’d be lying if that smile and the way he stood to start putting up his hair didn’t stir something sparkly up in your chest.

“That’s twice today you’ve saved me.”

A genuine chuckle left your lips. “I’m not sure that providing you with something to put your hair up with is saving you.”

The smile on his face just pulled wider at his cheeks. “In my book it does.”

You hummed thoughtfully and stood up, slinging your backpack over your shoulder, still watching as he tried to push his stray hairs down with force. It was oddly endearing to watch him, and your gaze softened. This man was large, had his right arm full of intricately designed tattoos, and beautiful brown skin – his form was imposing, but everything else about him was surprisingly gentle.

When he was done, he caught a glimpse at the time on his watch and made a small noise of surprise. “I better get going. My next class starts in fifteen minutes and it’s across campus!”

The slight panic in his eyes almost made you laugh again, but you kept it in. “Alright, I’ll see you next class, then. Have a good day, Reigns!”

When you turned to leave, he called out to you once more. The subtle shock of him knowing your name made you pause.

“It’s Roman,” he said.

“Huh?” You asked, turning your head to see a lopsided grin.

“My first name. It’s Roman.”

_Just as strong._

You smiled and the tip of your tongue pressed against your canine as you looked at him. “Ok, Roman. I’ll see you later.”

“Can’t wait!” He exclaimed with his own smile crinkling the corners of his eyes as he hurried off in the opposite direction.

–

Friday morning was met with golden rays of sunlight peeking through the curtains of the apartment and spreading themselves out on the floor. It was quiet at first, the only sounds coming from the coffee pot that you started five minutes earlier, and the soft muttering of the video playing on the television in the background.

Usually, days like these felt revitalizing, but as you stood in your kitchen waiting for the coffee to brew, you felt a familiar emptiness in your lower abdomen and weakness in your body.

“It’s happening more often,” you mumbled to yourself. “I’ll have to go back next week.”

Over on the round glass dining room table sat your laptop, opened to unfinished documents and assignments that needed to be completed before the weekend was out. There was no way you could even try to go home, you had to stick it out until Monday. This was _your_ choice after all.

There was a soft ping from the laptop to notify you of a new email, and when you squinted at it from a distance you could’ve sworn you saw the name ‘reigns’ amongst the address.

After making a cup of coffee, you sat down at the table to read the email.

_Dear life savior,_

_Happy Friday! I don’t know if you’ve got any classes (or maybe work?) today, but I was wondering if we could meet up at the café by Lake Ella? I’d love to at least treat you to a coffee for being so cool. Here’s my number if you wanna take me up on the offer!_

_From, the guy that has your scrunchy_

The email made you snicker, and it only took a minute before shooting out a text to Roman that you’d love to get a coffee with him. Perhaps the environment would give you the strength to push on until you could make it home, besides Roman’s natural energy would be good company to have.

—

This café was always really lively. The customers were mainly college students and there was rarely ever a table available, but you spotted Roman cozily sitting at a table next to the newly added gelato section of the café and waiting patiently for you.

His hair was pulled back in a bun today, no fuzz or flyaway in sight. He looked more like a man rather than a senior in college and something flickered and fluttered in your stomach.

The owner, Baron, caught your eye when he caught you staring at Roman and the look on his face looked mischievous. Baron winked at you and wagged his eyebrows with a sharp grin on his face that made you blush at the implications.

Electing to ignore him, you made your way over to Roman who positively lit up like the sun when he saw you. His eyes became a little bit wider and his grin was toothy. The feeling that you had in your stomach shoved its way up to the very middle of your chest and expanded so wide that it felt like you would burst. Warmth, so much _warmth_.

“Good morning, sunshine!”

The joy on his face was contagious and you returned his greeting with just as much mirth.

“Good morning to you too!” You sat down across from him and hummed happily. “I love this place; I was surprised that you asked to meet here.”

Roman let his eyes roam over the interior, quickly glancing at its eccentrically decorated wooden walls and the tiny tables that littered the floor. The upturn of his lips never left even as he settled his gaze back onto you.

“The air and the atmosphere here are different than anywhere else I’ve been in this town. It’s so close to campus yet detached it the best possible way.”

The Gray Wolf Café felt like an extended part of your home, so you understood Roman’s sentiments exactly. More often than not, you would come here to do your work or simply clear your mind, it was much easier to feel like yourself again when you were so close to nature.

“This place has its own melody.” Roman tilted his head and his eyes softened as he watched you get a faraway look in your eyes. “When your shoes hit the soil around this area you can feel the thrum of its song moving through your feet. As you get closer, and you come into contact with the wood of this building, you can feel it even stronger. Its notes wrap around you like a hug; welcoming you home.”

Your eyes fluttered closed for a few seconds as you hummed the comforting tune and carefully let your fingertips glide against the surface of the table. When they open, Roman is sitting there with childlike wonder in his eyes and he blinks at you once, twice, three times.

“Can you hear it?” You ask with a playful glint in your eyes.

He shook his head. “No, but I wish I could.”

The tone in his voice was nothing short of amazement and you couldn’t help the feeling of prideful satisfaction that settled in the pit of your stomach. 

“May I hold your hand for a minute?”

Roman smirked, his starry-eyed gaze gone in its wake. “I didn’t expect you to be so bold, sweetie.”

With a heavy eye roll and a begrudged smile of your own, you held out your hand. “Give me your hand and close your eyes for a second. Tell me if you hear it.”

Although hesitant, he took your hand and let his eyes slip shut. You wait for a beat, maybe two, and then he’s tightening his hand in yours; he can hear it, _feel it_.

“It’s soft,” he mutters, like if he were to get any louder the melody would tremble. “Ethereal, even. It feels… like I’m floating.”

Roman lets out a soft huff of a chuckle before opening his eyes and slowly coming back to his full senses.

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

He scrubs his hands over his face and laughs. “Hell yeah, it is. How can you even do that?”

You bit at your bottom lip before leaning in to whisper to him, “I’m magic.”

“Baby girl, that was a magical experience if I’ve had one!”

“ _‘Baby girl’_?”

Roman blushed a little. “Sorry, I tend to use a lot of pet names for my female friends. If it makes you uncomfortable I—”

Looking down at your hand that was still holding his, you smiled. “I quite like it actually.”

The red in his cheeks went to the top of his ears as he cleared his throat and gently took his hand out of yours.

“Uh,” he gave a nervous laugh. “Should we order our drinks now?”

With a nod, the two of you stood up to head to the counter, but when you took your first step a sharp feeling of nausea hit you. Steadying yourself with the table you closed your eyes for a minute and took in a deep breath. Sharing some of your power with Roman in your already weakened state probably hadn’t been the brightest of ideas, but the look on his face made it all worth it.

Straightening yourself up on a long exhale, you quickly put yourself next to Roman at the counter.

“Heya, sprite! How are you doing on this fine Friday?”

Ah, you’d almost forgotten. Baron had given you a stupid mischievous look when you walked in earlier and he was never this damn cheery. You were sure he was doing it to spite you. It may have been working.

Roman raised an eyebrow. “You know each other?”

Baron snickered, “Sure we do! Sprite’s always comin’ around here.” He looked over Roman; the corners of his lips now sharp enough to cut someone. “Never _with_ anyone before though.”

“Do you live to torture me, Baron?” You grumbled.

Roman, though? Laughing. He was _laughing_.

“Well, then I’m honored to be the first person she decided to come along with.”

He was smiling down at you with his eyes heartbreakingly gentle, and if Baron hadn’t been there you would have let yourself sit in that moment for a couple seconds longer.

You inhaled once, centering yourself, and then turned back to Baron. “No more teasing, Corbin. Can we order now?”

“Yeah, yeah. Ladies first, you want your usual?”

“No, do you have ginseng root? I think I need a bit of an energy booster” You could feel Roman’s gaze and it was obvious there was a bit of confusion with your question, but you pressed on with Baron. “If not, I’ll take ginger tea instead.”

Baron’s playful expression grew increasingly serious as he fully took in your appearance. If your recent paleness and the dark circles underneath your eyes were noticeable to you despite your attempt to use cover-up, then Baron and his keen senses surely could see it all.

“How long have you been away from home?” His tone was low, and a touch concerned.

“Too long, but I don’t have time to go back. I have papers to do and-”

Baron was quick to cut you off. “If you’re here, you have time.”

The glare you flashed him must’ve been strong enough because he lowered his head briefly. “You know it isn’t that easy.”

“Ok,” he conceded, “I’ll make you something to help boost your energy.”

Baron then turned to Roman and waited for his order, but he was much too preoccupied now with looking you over, nervousness etched over his face by the way his brows knit together.

You looked up at him and smiled gently. “It’s your turn to order.”

Still a bit stunned, Roman cleared his throat and gave his order to Baron. It was obvious how many questions he probably had, but he didn’t know if he should ask or let them be. After all, he barely knew you. 

When Roman reached into his back pocket to grab his wallet, Baron waved him off.

“This one’ll be on me, big guy.”

Roman nodded, but still, put a large tip in the jar that rested by the register. “I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem. You two go sit down, and I’ll bring the drinks when they’re ready.”

As soon as the two of you sat down, Roman leaned forward on the table with his elbows and looked at you over his folded hands. He was examining you similarly to the way Baron had, except he didn’t have the heightened senses like the older man. 

“Come on,” you smirked, “ask what you wanna ask.”

“What’s your favorite mythical creature?”

That is most definitely not what you expected him to ask and it surely wasn’t his initial question. But you’d still entertain him.

“Fairies,” you fluttered your fingers, acting like you were sprinkling fairy dust. “The Fae do not have a single origin story. W—they are from every part of history, every part of your great-great grandmother’s folklore. Not one fairy is the same as the other.”

“I’ve always heard that fairies were conniving little wisps of creatures and incredibly mischievous to boot.”

Tapping your fingers against your chin in thought, you gazed deeply into the other man’s face and wondered what game he was playing at. Either he knew something, or he was diverting from his real questions.

“Like I said, all fairies are different. Just as there are bad humans in this world, there are bad fairies. Of course, nothing is ever that black and white I’m afraid.”

Roman seemed to be temporarily satisfied with your answer if the amused upturned corners of his lips were anything to go by.

“I love that you’re so passionate about this subject.”

You hummed, he wasn’t lying per se, but you could see there was something else he was leaving unsaid.

“Ok,” you leaned back in your chair. “Now ask me your real question.”

He at least had the decency to look a bit sheepish with my near-immediate unmasking of his true questioning. “I’m concerned is all. I know we never talked, but it isn’t like I hadn’t noticed you in class.”

“Noticed me? Ya creep.” It was a playful jab and Roman at least chuckled.

“You stand out more than the rest somehow.” He shrugged and leaned back in his chair to mull over what he was going to say next. “You sit in the back, yet you ask questions or provide theories that leave the professor stumbling over his words. If the people that don’t take that class seriously actually saw the way you look at them, they’d turn pale.”

A light blush colored your cheeks and you shifted your gaze away from him bashfully. “I didn’t think anyone noticed me doing that — _they_ sure don’t.”

“I’m pretty quiet a good lot of the time, sweetheart. Means I’m real good at observing everything around me.”

The grin he wore was cocky and you couldn’t help but crack a smile of your own.

Just then, Baron came over with both drinks in hand. Yours had two cinnamon sticks resting against the rim of your cup.

“I put a bit of almond milk in there for you and honey to make it sweeter.” Baron rested his large hand on your head for a moment. “Drink it all and take care of yourself, sprite.”

A fondness bloomed in your chest as you watched him make his way back behind the counter to take more orders. Whenever he put his hand on your head, he made you feel like a little kid again; when your height hadn’t yet gone passed his waist.

“You have troubles at home or something? Anything I can help with?”

Roman’s voice pulled you out of your trance and you took a long sip of the tea before answering. “Yes and no. Yes, I have troubles at home, and no, there’s nothing you can do.”

The look on his face made you regret the deadpanned response you’d given him. He looked like a kicked puppy. Of course, he exuded the do-gooder type, so he probably felt inadequate in the face of your dilemmas.

“Come on, handsome, don’t make that face. It’s not that I don’t want your help, it’s just that…” you trailed off, struggling to find the right words. “My family doesn’t like the fact that I went against their wishes and decided to attend college. So, they definitely wouldn’t react well if I brought you around to persuade them.”

Roman nodded and pursed his lips a little. “It’s complicated. I get it.”

You hummed, tapping your fingers against the cup as you sighed. “Complicated is an understatement.”

Suddenly, the doors that lead out to the patio flew open, banging themselves against the railing and a chair that was in their way. The noise caused you and Roman to jump and gauging by the look on all the other customers around, you weren’t the only ones. The doors were still noisily clanging as the wind outside picked up increasingly, causing leaves to stir and papers to fly like little tornadoes. 

Like a siren call, you stood up to see what had caused such an uproar. The quiet melody that you had listened to peacefully earlier was now a crescendoing forte; pounding in your ears until you could only process white noise.

Somewhere in the back of your head, you registered Baron and Roman calling out to you wondering what you were doing, but they sounded far away, and nothing could pull you away from this noise.

Once at the doors, you grabbed them both by their handles to stop them from hurtling against things. The once roaring wind calmed when you stepped outside and across the patio and leaning over the railing you saw something out in the middle of the lake; a man you were familiar with. Hair grayed with age and delicate wings a vibrant blue - he looked at you, a dead stare, before pointing towards the trees, and then disappearing a second later. 

Gently, and ever so quietly, you closed the doors and returned back to your seat without even sparing a glance at Baron. You were sure he felt the presence on his territory, sure that he knew what had just transpired and that the wind outside wasn’t natural.

“Are you okay?”

The concern had settled itself back in Roman’s voice and you tried your best to reassure him.

“Yeah, I just thought that the wind was really weird. It kinda caught me off guard!” The chuckle you gave came out much more nervous than you had wanted it to.

“Alright then, sweetheart!” Roman clapped his hands together once making you jump slightly. “Let’s come here once a week, at least, and talk about class, and life, and whatever the hell else we want to talk about.”

His sudden proposition was odd and maybe a bit out of place, but it was refreshing to have someone care for once — other than Baron, that is. 

“Ok,” you agreed, “I like the sound of that.”

—

A little less than a week had passed since you made your promise with Roman. It was Thursday night, well over the allotted time you’d intended to stay away from going home, but college meant projects and papers that demanded you sell twenty pages or too long PowerPoints of your time.

It wasn’t smart to ignore the _suggestion_ of the fairy that showed themselves to you in the middle of the lake. Shane, the Elder Son of your people, called you back to the forest for a reason and in denying it you gave them reason to take you against your will.

So, now, here you were, stood in front of the forest only a mile away from Baron’s café and staring at a door covered in different species of Ivy that wrapped themselves around its edges and crevices. Reaching your hand out to its handle, the Ivy shrunk back allowing you access, and once you stepped through the door an overwhelming feeling of _home_.

Just because you didn’t like coming back here due to the push back you got from your family, didn’t mean you didn’t like coming back to your own realm. It wasn’t the same as normal forests, your home settled itself inside the DNA of the forests that reside on Earth and remained invisible to the naked human eye.

Fireflies, glowing click beetles, and railroad worms flying and trudging along the dimly lit mesic soil and grand tree trunks. Alfalfa and alpine forget-me-nots litter the ground around your feet, creeping thistle that comes up to your waist, and common milkweed that harbors a home to caterpillars soon to be monarch butterflies. The soft rushing of a stream is always nearby the door to your home, it leads to a lake that welcomes you to a leisure dip that will rejuvenate magical powers, it is always the first thing that you allow yourself to fall into. The forest and the elementals that reside within it work in harmony; the cooperation between the two is what keeps the forest plentiful with resources and animal life. 

Stepping into the body of water sheds the commonality of the human form that needs to be regularly maintained. Your hair changes, wings appear, and the clothes you once wore are replaced in a blur of lights that resemble an aurora. A dress that covered you in chiffon fabric with a periwinkle flower that swept over a strappy, ruffled wrap bodice with a delicately tying waist. The back was open, leaving enough room for your wings to spread out freely.

Leaving the lake, you followed the sound of fluttering wings and clustered voices that were easy for your newly enhanced hearing to pick up. Further into the forest where the trees’ canopies overlapped with one another so heavily that it was nearly pitch-black and the mushrooms and toadstools grew in abundance, that is where the houses stood. Houses erected with magic and claimed by nature, this is where your people lived and where you grew up. Crown Imperial planets that were irregularly tall and infused with so much magic that they shined, acting like lanterns to light the way and illuminate the village.

For a few long seconds, you stood at the entrance and let your eyes flutter over the suspiciously quiet village. You’d heard the voices previously and knew they were trying to play a trick on you, but you didn’t have the attitude nor the patience to play along.

“If no one is home, I’ll gladly leave.” You sighed and waited for someone to break, but they seemed rather intent on keeping the game going. With a flit of your wings, you spun around to leave before a small chirp and the rapid buzz of bird wings hovered right in front of you. “Hermes?”

The hummingbird twittered and zoomed around you in a friendly manner. By nature, hummingbirds were unsocial creatures, but whenever you came back to the fairy realm Hermes was there to greet you. With a smile on your face, you reached your finger out for him to land and when he settled you gently dragged your index finger over his feathers.

“Are the others hiding, Hermes?” He cheeped. “Will you show me? I’d like to play a trick on them.”

In a rush, Hermes flew off your finger and left like a shot through the village. He fluttered in front of the houses the fairies were in and around the trees they were hiding, and when he finally settled on a nearby housetop you knew he had given up everyone’s location.

A snicker came out of you as you moved next to a tree trunk, rested one hand on it and crouched down to bury the other into the soil. The ground began to gently rumble, and you heard the stir of wings move nervously but still refusing to come out. Lianas began to untangle themselves from trees and grow out of the ground to wrap themselves around the ankles and arms of their targets. The long-stemmed, woody vines shot out like rockets once you locked onto the location of the fairies; the ones inside the houses had their doors thrown open by the wooden vines before thrusting into the houses and yanking them out by their ankles.

Shrieks of laughter and shock came from all around you, Hermes chirped excitedly and flew around the fairies that now hung upside down in front of you. The liana was much too sturdy for their wings to keep them upright in the air. Some of the fairies had to use their own insect or animal friends to keep their skirts and dresses from falling over and past their heads. The entire scene of your family being helpless in front of you made you laugh uncontrollably.

“There’s the laughter we’d been waiting for, sugarplum!”

Hermes landed on your head as you stood up, clapping your hands together to get the dirt off. The person that had spoken first – well, louder than the others who were chattering excitedly and a tad bit embarrassed – was Charlotte with her full smile that you often see in your dreams. She was gorgeous even upside down. A grumble came from her far right, though and that got your attention.

“Could you let us down now? The Elders will be coming back soon, and this is… _compromising_.” Drake’s ivy vines were wrapped around his arms and looked like they were desperately trying to tug him out of the liana’s hold but were failing miserably.

“Aw, don’t be such a dandelion downer, Maverick!” Becky with her fiery hair looked like she was having the time of her life. Her little fox companion had appeared out of nowhere trying to jump up and nip at the ends of her locks. “We got ourselves int’ this mess. We all know our Lil bellflower gives as good as she gets.”

All the others looked like the blood was rushing too quickly to their heads for them to make any comments on their situation. Drew especially - you were unsure how the vines were strong enough to hold his hulking form up in the air to begin with - he looked like he was ready to hurl.

With a flutter of your fingers and a turn of your wrist, the liana’s gently set everyone down and then retreated to their original locations. When they charged you, Hermes went buzzing off into the trees with a tweet to announce his departure. Charlotte was on you first, her arms wrapping around your shoulders and lifting you off of the ground with the gentle beating of her wings.

The others patted you on the back or gave you a quick kiss to your temple. McIntyre, once he looked a little less green, reached over the rest to ruffle your hair. A warm fondness spread itself over you as they asked about your health and travels, all the different things you had seen, and… if the humans were, well, _lacking_ in their compassion for the environment.

A resigned smile formed on your face once the topic of the humans was brought up. The grins that had been on their faces just mere seconds earlier had curdled, morphing into disgust and a heavy loathing for the species. They’d only ever seen their machines and heard the whispers in the trees of how they treated one another – their negative opinion on humans had been rooted in them for centuries, so it was quite difficult for you to even get your own opinion across.

“Why don’t you just stay here, sugarplum? You’re _home_.” Charlotte’s voice was sugary sweet, and it sent a shiver down your spine - good or bad, you couldn’t tell. “Those creatures could never treat you the way you should be.”

“They’ve treated me just fine, actually.”

There was a scoff that sounded like Maverick. “Yeah, sure. I bet their ‘kindnesses’ are always done with a favor of their own in mind. Selfish basta-”

“ _Drake!_ ” Drew hissed, “Watch your language.”

“Some of them are kind.” The gentleness in your voice seemed to peak their attention if the way their ears twitched were anything to go on. “Some of them pay attention and want to ask you questions in order to get to know you. They will buy your coffee simply because you helped them once. They’re hard workers and they have to struggle in a world that is made to break them rather than aid them. They-”

“It’s as you’ve said, child.”

The chill that went down your spine this time was unmistakably ominous; a disgusting crawl of a feeling. When you turned around Shane was there with some of the others in tow. They seemed squeamish around him, more so than usual, and that worried you. He’d never been particularly _kind_ he always chose the tough love sort of avenue to teach his peers how to go about their centuries.

“Shane,” not one to be disrespectful, you addressed him with a nod of your head and a smirk. He was no Fairy King to you, just a placeholder in your stead while being away. “Who are you to call a child?”

“You _are_ younger than me.” He swept his long hair over one shoulder and sighed. “Anyway, back to the topic of conversation. They struggle against their _own_ , what kind of existence is that? They’re unable to live an existence without hardship because they are much too busy fighting one another. Dull creatures.”

Rolling your shoulders back and standing taller made you look and feel much larger in form. Your wings spread out instead of tucking themselves vertically behind you and you tilted your head up to Shane.

“You seem to forget, _brother_ , there isn’t a species without hardship and struggle. Distrust and mistreatment. Hatred and intolerance. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we?” Shane’s jaw tightened visibly as he ground his teeth together. “I will not deny that there are those that are cruel, but not everything is rainbows and dewdrops in this forest of ours. There are some of us that play deadly tricks and steal firstborns. The humans know our legends – not all of them are accurate, but they have a grasp on the ones that dabble in the darker magic. Do not act like you are of higher importance when you act just as proud as those humans you seem to hate so much.”

There was a long silence that settled between the two of you. It wasn’t often that you fought with your brother – sure you’d throw the occasional sharp comment whenever he had an unsavory word about humans, but he was spreading his propaganda to the rest of your family – your _people_. You could handle the questioning and the worried questions you received from them, but you would be damned if you let them become hateful beings.

“They aren’t your family.” There was a sharp inhale from him, and his voice came out like an aggrieved growl. “That man you were with is not your family.”

You bristled at the mention of Roman and found yourself irritated that Shane had the audacity to throw him into your argument. Suddenly, you could feel multiple eyes on you.

“Don’t you _dare_ bring him into this.”

Shane’s facial features shifted into something violent at your defense of Roman and his voice started to get thunderously loud. “Some selfless queen you are! You’re just like the humans: selfish and irresponsible!”

Unable to see the clouds past the treetops, you couldn’t see how dark the sky had gotten due to your boiling anger, but you could _hear_ it. The rumbling began and the lightning started to strike but remained miles away.

“I have been alive for nearly a _century_! You and I have ruled side by side for so long, have been through so many things, and all I wanted was to be more aware of the world our realm lived in. I wanted to know what we were up against and if I could help the situation among them!”

Shane exploded and the ground trembled. “You abandoned your people to study amongst them! You come back only when you can barely stand in your human form – don’t think that I can’t feel your magic and life force fading away by the day! Why do you think that I appeared on the lake!?”

The audience that both of you had, scattered once the argument progressed into affecting the elements around you. Doors were closed and windows were boarded, birds flew away from the impending storm, and you could hear the hooves of animals seeking shelter.

“I am still their queen. A Fairy Queen far outweighs a king, brother if you have forgotten? I am looking to the future. The ones that are to come after us and I want them to have a prosperous life with the humans. I want them to be unafraid to leave this realm for something possibly greater!”

Your brother looked at you with disgust and you shrunk into yourself slightly. “Go back to the people that are destroying your home.”

“You _cannot_ dismiss me, Shane!”

“You are nothing when I am here.”

The rain started then, slipping through the tree branches only to drip gently onto your skin. The power that was once behind the clouds and the thunder itself, vanished with your brother’s words.

“What?” you barely muttered over the sound of the rainfall.

“I have protected them and harvested our food while you leisurely drink your tea with that man. You are only their queen when it’s convenient. _You_ are _nothing_.”

The words sounded like glass shattering and you blinked back oncoming tears. “Fine,” you nodded. “I’m going.”

Slowly, you lifted your hands up to cease the rainfall. Hoping that your emotions weren’t currently stronger than the magic you wielded, but luckily the clouds parted, and pieces of moonlight illuminated patches of the ground.

You heard the creaking of doors opening and looked back to see your friends – your family with unreadable expressions on their faces. With a somber smile, you waved, shook out your wings for a brief second before lifting yourself off of the ground and leaving them behind once again.

Perhaps he was right. Maybe wanting something for yourself when you had people to take care of was selfish and wholly irresponsible. Maybe being with the humans would lead to nothing but displeasure and cruelty.

Maybe he was wrong.

–

“You look much better than when I saw you yesterday, baby girl.” Back at the café the next day with Roman sitting across from you, you smiled at him. “Healthier for sure, but maybe not happy. Someone upset you?”

You blinked at him, still oddly astounded by how perspective he was when it came to you. “I really feel like you have a sixth sense when it comes to me. You’re incredibly observant.”

Roman snorted and dipped his coffee. “I’m a quiet giant! I’m serious though, did you go back home yesterday? Your folks get mad again or what?”

“Mm, well, not my parents, they passed away long ago. My brother, though, he’s a force to be reckoned with.”

There was a sound of sympathy across from you and Roman leaned across the table on his arms to get a bit closer to you. “You got a big bad older brother, huh?”

His smirk was _just_ on this side of devilish and its presence warmed your cheeks faster than your own drink did.

“He- yeah, um, yes. Yes, I do.” You had _no_ clue why your tongue decided to get in the way of you forming proper words.

“You tell him about me?”

“Tell him what, exactly?”

Roman shrugged when he leaned back in his chair, “Anything, really. Is he the type to get angry just from hearing you’re in the company of a man?”

You were stunned. Obviously, you couldn’t tell him that it was really because Roman was a human man, but you could twist the question around in your favor.

“It’s more like he gets angry that I’m in the company of _anyone_ here, but the fact that I’m beginning to spend my Friday’s with a _man_ , yes he hates it.”

Roman’s smirk grew into a full grin, and you swore there was a slight blush hidden under that tanned skin of his.

“You know,” he says once the red in his cheeks fades over the companionable quiet. “I would really like to spend more than just Friday’s with you.”

It was your turn to smirk. Your expression reflected a calm appearance, but inside of you was thrumming. It felt as if a fire had been lit behind your rib cage.

“Like spend time together after you get off of work?”

He nodded.

“And when your classes end a little later than mine?”

He nodded.

“Then, maybe at each other’s apartments?”

That time he didn’t nod, but his expression was open and gentle as he reached out his hand to loosely thread his fingers with yours.

“If you’re comfortable with that.”

You bit at the inside of your cheek, not removing your gaze from his. He was giving you time to think, giving you time to back out immediately from this.

“You really want to piss off my brother, don’t you?”

The loud laugh he let out erupted a toothy smile from your own face. He laid his head back, letting his laughter shoot up like a mushroom cloud throughout the room.

When he finished, he leaned forward across the table again and squeezed your hand with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Hell yeah, baby girl.”

—

Two months had gone by and the end of the semester – and the end of your college career – was coming in quickly. Roman and you had gotten significantly closer, dancing around your… little less than obvious feelings for one another, but there was a 6’2’’ reason on the other side of the forest that made you hesitant taking things further.

It was easier to believe that the two of you never had a chance together rather than dragging it along just to get hurt in the end. _Easier. Less painful_. That’s what you had to keep telling yourself every time Roman would sweep your hair behind your shoulders and the pad of his thumb would drag slowly across the skin of your neck. When he pulled your forehead to bump against his with the echo of his laughter in the air. The times he’d fallen asleep in your bed during a movie marathon and you’d trace his hairline with feather-light touches. Or the time your lips lingered a bit too long at the corner of his mouth that night he dragged you out to a bar and the look in his eyes burned bright, hoping you’d do more. This would be less painful than its inevitable end.

Being as you’d gotten into a massive fight with your brother, you stayed out of the forest; pushing it to the very edge possible. You’d never gone this long before and it felt like you were starving yourself. At some point, when your pride wasn’t in the way, you’d have to make the trip. Even though entering through the other side of the door meant Shane would know of your presence, you would need to or risk the chance of dying.

On Tuesday, Roman had sat next to you in class with a smile on his face. He’d brought you tea that day, saying something about how Baron had given him the recipe from the first time you went there together.

The tea was in a dark red thermos that had his name written in light gray vinyl stickers. When you looked up at him with your eyebrow raised in question, you could have sworn you saw a blush flush across his cheeks.

“I have a lot of siblings,” he reasoned. “Ma had to make sure her little boy didn’t get his things taken.”

“Little?” You snorted.

Gently, he flicked you on the nose. “Shut up and drink your tea!”

A new softness had settled in your eyes as you gazed at him and mumbled your thanks against the thermos’ lid before he pressed a gentle kiss to your temple.

Roman had noticed the discoloration of your skin sometime in the middle of class. He tapped his pen quietly against the notebook he had laid out, pointing to the margins where he had scribbled out a question: _How are you feeling?_

The question caused a pause in your note-taking; fingers hovering over the keyboard for a minute, you hit the enter bar twice and typed out: _I’ll be okay._

_That’s not what I asked,_ was written next.

A soft sigh slipped out of you as you hit enter twice once again. _I’m tired. Tired and drained._

Roman reached over to you slowly, waiting for you to accept or reject whatever advance he was trying to make. You kept still with your hand resting on the small desk attached to the chair; waiting to see what he would do.

When his hand finally rested on yours, he moved his thumb over the skin of your wrist and the back of your hand. It was like he was examining it, wondering how the color had gone so quickly from the last time he had seen you.

He squeezed it delicately and in a hushed, deep voice said, _“Drink your tea.”_

After class, you walked with him halfway to his next one before he stopped you. “Maybe you need another trip home?”

You turned to him sharply. “I’m not going back there.”

Roman’s eyes were wide at your reaction, but he pressed on. “Baby girl, I just want you to be ok.” His brow furrowed and he had worry swimming around in his eyes. “If going home helps you, then you gotta go.”

“Ro, I-… I can’t. This last time wasn’t good. I’m not welcome back.”

He didn’t hesitate to crush you against him, backpack and all, and rested his chin on top of your head. He was so warm, and it felt like his arms were leeching the stress and exhaustion out of your body the longer he held you.

“It’s probably incredibly hard, especially if you fought with the only family you have left, but you need to go back home. You seem to forget that I’m super observant, sweetheart.” Roman released you from his arms but maintained contact by holding your hands. “I know what you’ve been putting yourself through and how you look out the window of your apartment like you’re missing something. Go home, apologize to each other and then come back here. I’ll buy you a coffee or some tea if you’re still doing bad and I’ll wrap you up in that fuzzy ass blanket of mine you love so much.”

The sound of your heart beating loudly against your ribcage sounded like it was trying to break free. His words landed heavily on your ears and when you opened your mouth to speak, words you weren’t supposed to say tumbled out.

“I love you.”

Immediate regret! Immediate. The end of the statement shocked you into action and you pulled your hands out of Roman’s and you hightailed it out of there.

“Okay, bye, have a good day!”

Roman was calling your name and telling you to come back, but you kept running. You kept running until you got to the bus stop that would take you back to your complex. Collapsing down onto a nearby bench, you let out the heaviest sigh of your life.

“Oh, _shit_.”

On Thursday, you skipped class. This had nothing to do with the impending doom you felt after regurgitating the L word out onto Roman two days ago. He, of course, being the absolute beautiful human being that he was, immediately called you after his class. You, _of course_ , did not pick up and did not answer any of his texts that day or even the next. You were utterly mortified and thrived on self-sabotage.

You skipped your mythology course because the exhaustion had taken you over and by the time you had woken up it was well past the end of the class. This was the first time you had ever missed the class since the start of the semester and even though you had ignored all of his previous messages, you knew that he would still try to reach out.

Still bleary-eyed and slightly feverish, you looked at the baker’s dozen of missed phone calls and texts from Roman. The worried words pillowed by sad face emojis that made their delivery less serious, and in your haze, you saw the texts: _Please don’t ignore me. I want to talk about what you said on Tuesday. Why aren’t you here?_

Not that it helped the situation at all, but the least you could do in the current situation was to respond to the messages. You were sick after all. _I’m sorry. I’m okay_ , is all you sent him.

Hoisting yourself out of bed took more exertion than necessary and with your pride caught heavily in your throat, you made the journey to the forest and hoped that the door showed itself in your weakened state. You would hate to have to ask Baron to be your guide, he’d only tell you how stupid it was that it took this long for you to take action.

–

Roman had sat there during the entire lecture going over various scenarios in his head about how you probably didn’t mean what you said. It was a mistake. The reaction you had was like you’d been burned, and you didn’t even give him enough time to respond! It had to be because you loved him like a brother because your biological one was an _obvious_ douche, right?

_Right?_

He looked at his phone several times, sending you texts during the lecture in hopes that you would tell him that you decided to skip because you didn’t want to subject yourself to the lecture that day – although that didn’t sound like you at all – or that you had simply ran late and were now locked outside the building, waiting for him to come out so he could spill the info to you.

After the class ended and Roman found that you weren’t outside of the building waiting for him, he called you. Five times. In his defense, he spread them out across the time span it took him to walk to his next class across campus. He let it rest after that and hoped that his – God, too many messages he’d sent hadn’t made you think he was a complete stalker who couldn’t take the fact that you hadn’t shown up to class _one god damned time_. He was just fucking _worried_ , ok? Worried and nervous were a dangerous combination for Roman and he tended to ramble on about nonsensical things in person and doing it through text was just reckless.

It wasn’t until he stepped out of his last class of the day and the hot afternoon sun spread itself out onto his skin that he felt his phone buzz once. Fumbling with it, he pulled it out and squinted at the screen, reading the words ‘I’m sorry. I’m okay.’

The first thing he felt wasn’t relief like he had been hoping, but instead, it was suspicion. Forgoing his earlier concern of you avoiding him, he felt something else was wrong. Healthwise, you’d been getting increasingly worse and he had hoped you’d decided to head home, but he wasn’t sure if that was the case.

The way your skin looked nearly dead; drained of its life that he had seen for the last two months before he knew you. Something was going on and now that he knew you – now that he was much more invested – the overwhelming sense to protect you _flooded_ his senses.

First, he went to your house and knocked on the door for what felt like an hour. Time dragging on in his desperate attempt to have you answer him. You hadn’t responded again after sending that single text and as he paced in front of your front door, he sent another. Pleading with you to respond.

The next thing he does is go to the café. It was nearly 9pm which meant he had at least an hour before they closed for the night, but Roman had a feeling that if it had to do with _Sprite_ , Baron would help him.

Before he could even get to the door, a small creature fluttered its wings in front of him and he nearly swatted at it thinking it’s a bug before it chirps in his face.

“What the hell?” It was a hummingbird that zipped so quickly around him that he thought it was angry and trying to attack him. “What do you want?!”

Roman took a giant step back and watched as it zipped a few feet in front of him almost… waiting for him. He looked around to see if anyone else was watching this, but even if they were there was no way for them to see in the very dimly lit parking lot of the café.

“Do you want me to follow you?”

The answering chirp from the hummingbird made Roman kick into gear. As he followed the creature further away from the café the darker it got. He took out his phone, hoping to keep an eye on the bird with its flashlight while also trying not to bust his ass over tree branches and changes in terrain.

The bird zooms into the forest area and Roman comes to a complete stop.

“Hell no, I am _not_ going into a damn forest at night!”

It chirped loudly.

“No!”

Again.

“You must think I’m an idiot.”

This time it flew right into his face and began to chirrup as it flew around his head.

“Fine, fine!” Roman followed it farther into the trees, listening to its call as he did. “I swear to god if I die–”

He stopped in his tracks when the bird didn’t move forward, but instead fluttered over a collapsed form only a few feet ahead. There was a door in front of them. A door that he had heard his professor speak about before. 

When he approached the form, it took on a familiar shape and the realization that it was you hit Roman like a truck. His mind started to race at all the possibilities of you being this far out into the woods, he wondered if you were intrigued and wanted to investigate the door because it called you there, but maybe you had pricked your finger on the thorns that wrapped around its edges like _Sleeping Beauty_ or some shit and–

Roman stamped down his overactive imagination and picked you up as kindly as he could. The hummingbird perched itself on his shoulder and made another sound, looking back and forth between him and the door.

He groaned, “You want me to go in, don’t you?”

With a sigh and a silent prayer, Roman turned the knob as best he could with you in his arms and stepped through the threshold. There isn’t some bright ‘this is the end’ light that blinds him, but the disorienting shift in atmosphere forces Roman to close his eyes before adjusting.

Although it is nighttime, this area of the forest that they’ve entered – this _realm_ – is much brighter than on the other side. Roman is overwhelmed by all of the things around him: the rushing of water, the singing birds that seem to be acknowledging his presence, the soft rustling of the wind, and the fluttering of the hummingbird’s wings that is once again leading him down a path.

He becomes aware that the bird was taking him to a body of water and when it chirps again, this time over the lake, he thinks he knows what he has to do. Gently, ever so gently, he lays your body in the water and waits. The way you float in the clear water was almost ethereal; sinking into the water, like it was consuming you. This nearly makes Roman panic and he tries to reach for you, but a soft light that starts to emanate from you gives him pause.

Your hair shines, growing longer and lighter in color, almost taking on a new translucent sheen. The color of your skin that was once so sickly pale, is now its normal pigment and when the gentle light from what Roman can only call “flower lanterns” hits your skin, it sparkles. He suddenly wonders if the door thrust him into Twilight.

Fish swim excitedly around your body as you transform into something he has only read about in books. Your eyes open slowly, but he’s unsure if you can truly see him yet. It was like he was watching you be reborn.

He watches as you rise from the water, clothes having transformed into a dress he’s never seen before, and he’s too amazed that it is not even holding a single drop of the lake’s water. Roman finally understands why fairies are your favorite mythical creatures and as he stares at the delicate gossamer-like texture of your wings that looked like they were dipped in pastel green – he knows that they aren’t myths at all.

Roman calls out to you once he thinks it’s safe to and you spin around to face him, eyes wide and completely caught off guard. He sees the way they begin to shine and how you bite your lower lip, trying to hold back the tears from falling, but you suddenly step back into the water with such haste that the fish scatter. Your arms are thrown around his neck the next moment and you bury your face into his neck, quiet sobs tremoring through your body.

–

A million thoughts are running through your mind as you melt into Roman’s embrace. He’s hesitant to hold you at first, arms unsure of where to land probably because you suddenly have wings protruding out of your back.

“I bet you didn’t expect this to happen, did you?”

Roman, with his arms still secured around your waist, pulled away to look at you with his eyes still a little wide. “If it was anyone other than you, I would be shitting my pants right now.”

His comment startled a laugh out of you. There was familiar tweeting from nearby and you saw Hermes settled on a branch away from the water. Pulling Roman from the lake, you smiled teasingly at how soaked he was and with a twist of your wrist the water was lifted out of the fibers of his clothes to be settled back into the lake. A quiet, _holy shit_ was muttered from him as you acted nonchalantly and approached Hermes.

“Hermes, you sweet little bird, was it you that brought him to me?” His answering sound caused a flutter in your own wings and you smiled. “Thank you so much, you’ve always looked after me.”

Roman chuckled, “I should’ve known you had an actual animal familiar.”

You tilted your head. “Hermes isn’t my familiar, but a treasured friend. I think it’s funny that an animal familiar is more interesting than the fact that I’m one of the mythical creatures we learn about in our class.”

“It’s damn interesting! I have a million questions ready to go whenever you’re ready to answer them, but,” Roman stepped closer to you again with an expression just on the edge of stern. “I’m still upset that you waited so long to help yourself again.”

Regret flooded you and you couldn’t hold his gaze. “I know I didn’t tell you everything, but I couldn’t– I didn’t want to come back.”

“You put your life in danger by not coming here! That was obvious before you collapsed in front of the door, but I even told you that I would help you once you took care of things at home.” He looked around the forest and the colors that surrounded the two of you. “When you took care of things _here_.”

You looked back up at him. “Roman, I–”

“I love you,” he said seriously and suddenly your words, along with your heart, were in your throat. “I don’t know if you mean it the same way I do when you told me on Tuesday, but… Baby girl, **my life would be boring without you. Very peaceful and stress-free, but boring.** ”

With watery eyes, you looked up into the trees and groaned. “You said you could be this stupidly sweet?”

Roman gingerly took your face in his hands and your eyes found a mischievous gleam in his eyes that accompanied a twin smirk. “Are you going to tell me or am I gonna have t’ kiss it outta you?”

“I-” He didn’t wait as he brought your lips together softly, only pushing forward when your hands wrapped around his wrists and you let out a quiet, delighted sound. “I love you,” you whispered.

The two of you exchanged sweet kisses for a while before descending into gentle pecks along each other’s hairlines and jaws. Roman was the first to pull away by pressing his forehead against your own like he had done several times before. “Your bird is probably watching us.”

You turned to look at the tree limb that he had perched himself on and saw that he had disappeared, “He can read the atmosphere.”

He huffed out a laugh and kissed you again. “I heard it again.”

“Hm?”

“The melody from before.”

You hummed, pressing one more kiss to his lips and savoring it. “The trees speak to each other. Since we’re so close to the café still, you’re able to hear it when we’re in sync.”

There was a glint in Roman’s eyes when you said that, and he pulled your hands to his lips. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this–”

“You’re doing a really good job.”

“–but I don’t think I’ve been this happy in a long time. Fairies are fuckin’ real – _you’re_ real, and you love me.”

“I love you.”

Roman bit his lower lip and squeezed your hands in his. “God, this is crazy!”

“Wait until I show you–” You stopped in the middle of your sentence; the grin on your face falling into a frown. “We have to go.”

“What?” Concern flooded Roman’s face. “What’s wrong?”

The insects that you previously heard making their songs had silenced themselves. The forest itself was much too quiet and in the distance, you heard the distinct sound of wings beating.

“My brother is coming.”


End file.
